How To Treat Condensation

After conducting a preliminary damp survey Stockport Damp Proofing specialists will work with you to implement the following six-point plan:

1. Generate Less Moisture
Don’t worry: we won’t tell you to stop breathing, cooking or showering! But if you are using equipment such as paraffin heaters or bottled gas, we’ll advise you to find an alternative, since the combustion of these fuel sources gives rise to lots of moisture. It’s also a good idea not to dry clothes on radiators or your Aga if you have a condensation problem, and you should always make sure your tumble dryer vents its vapour directly to the outside of your home.

2. Improve Heating
You should aim to set your heating system so that it provides constant, low-level heat with no fluctuations. This keeps your interior walls warm at all times, offering less opportunity for the moisture in the air to condense. Heat exchange fans can also help by removing moist air from the interior of your home and replacing it with warmed air drawn in from the outside.

3. Make Ventilation More Effective
The big challenge here is to improve ventilation in your home without making the walls and other surfaces chilly. Leaving the windows open is an obvious fix, but it won’t help keep the ambient temperature stable in cold weather. We can install air bricks and passive vents to help air circulate more effectively, but if your condensation problem is severe we may recommend a positive pressure ventilation unit: this reduces humidity by actively pushing damp air out of the building.

4. Insulate Cold Surfaces
In terms of their insulating properties, all building materials are not created equal. If your home has cold solid walls or floors, we can apply a lining material which provides a warm surface. We’ll also carry out checks behind the lining to make sure you don’t have a damp problem deep within the wall.

5. Use Technical Fixes
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that some areas of your home—like the bathroom—can suffer from constant high humidity and poor ventilation. If you’ve already installed obvious measures such as extractor fans but still find conditions unacceptably humid, you need to box clever. The main aim in these circumstances is preventing the growth of black mould: the application of a good quality anti-mould paint can achieve this objective.

Of course, if reducing the overall humidity in the room is your top priority, we can also help you select a dehumidifier unit.

6. Resolve Your Underlying Damp Problem
Many of the above solutions are ones you can implement without professional help. But it’s all too common to find that condensation problems are the result of an underlying cause such as penetrative damp. If you suspect that this may be the case or your condensation problem is persistent, it’s best to go right ahead and book a free damp survey with Stockport Damp Proofing today. Fill in the below form or call us.